About the colours? No, none of the pictures of Siffert in the 24 show a white band (one shows a chequered band round the tip), and the other Filipinetti 24 driven by Phil Hill in '64 had a white stripe - also there is a photo of Baghetti in '63 in a Filipinetti 24-BRM which might be the Siffert car, also with a white stripe.

On another forum I've seen that the Schlumpf 24 is listed as c/n 950, which was the Siffert car.

The Ferrari looks to have had an OSCA grille fitted.............upside-down! And the 250F, as you say, seems to have the front wheels a foot too far forward.

Siffert drove a 22 in n/c F1 IIRC, then both a 21-Climax and a 24-BRM in '62 and '63-4 for Filipinetti, then bought the 24 and ran it himself. There are some photos on this Autodiva forum thread:http://www.autodiva....p...109&start=0

Maybe Schlumpf couldn't get hold of a BRM V8 for it...........

Odd that the 25 and 156 aren't on display, they've been there for ever - maybe in restoration?

Apparently the 24 (chassis number 950) was sold to Siffert by Filipinetti after they fired him.Siffert ran it himself and supposedly fitted the FPF in 1965 after the BRM V8 self destructed - but the FPF appears to be a 2.5 litre so it wouldn't have been eligible, unless he was thinking of running it in 1966 3 litre F1?

Incidentally Filipinetti bought two Lotus 24s both described as chassis number 950 on their paperwork... One of the Filipinetti 24s was converted in to the Cegga Ferrari with a 250 V-12 engine fitted - presumably the other one...

Red is the right colour for a Filipinetti car, but the white Walker nose band isn't.

The Lotus 33 and Ferrari 156 aero were both on display when I last visited nearly a year ago.

Lotus 33 and Ferrari 156 are on display at Matra museum (Romorantin) since some months for a special exposition which will end 11 november. This Matra museum, not very known, is really good, all their race cars and engines are there.

Apparently the 24 (chassis number 950) was sold to Siffert by Filipinetti after they fired him.Siffert ran it himself and supposedly fitted the FPF in 1965 after the BRM V8 self destructed - but the FPF appears to be a 2.5 litre so it wouldn't have been eligible, unless he was thinking of running it in 1966 3 litre F1?

If you think that the Monza 250F (2530) looks a little unusual, someone should post a photo of the Collection's other 250F (2511) which is the ex-Centro-Sud car with the high, Vanwall-style tail which did nothing for its aesthetics.

Is that the Dunham Alvis Special campaigned in period by Gerry Dunham and in more recent years by sometine FF racer, Richard Dunham. I worked with his brother John in the ear;ly 1970s at Canley (Coventry) whatever BL called itself that week! I think the Alvis is based on one of the mid-'thirties six cylinder cars, but cannot remember which one.

It certainly is the car built by Cdr "Clink" Clinkard and has nothing whatsoever to do with the Dunham Alvis.

Built by ex neighbour of mine Cdr Clinkard while on board ship while serving in the Navy in the 1950s, the car featured a 4.3 Alvis motor with a large Shorrock supercharger (one of a pair I believe - the other fitted to ERA R4D) and a body reputedly made for one of the E Type ERAs but never fitted to such.

It is good to hear the car is now back in the UK to race. It will need a brave and skilful driver to get the best out of it. Despite its prodigous straight line speed the car was difficult to handle and gave Clink a fright on more than one occasion.

With reference to the Octane article, Bradfield Engineering was IIRC the name of Clink's business building and servicing Alvi. from his farm in Assington Suffolk

The Jowett Jupiter was a works car at the 1951 Le Mans 24 hour race, but retired after 19 laps driven by Bert Hadley and Charles Goodacre. Hadley then won the 1.5 litre class at the 1951 RAC TT race. The other Jowett is a 1928 Fabric sallon.

Some images of the Donington Collection as it was on my visit this last Monday...
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with http://img441.images...78/cimg0010.jpg[/IMG]
By giraffe138://http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/...e138]giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with http://img194.images...1/cimg0024u.jpg[/IMG]
By giraffe138://http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/...e138]giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By giraffe138, shot with EX-M2 at 2009-11-04
By [url="http://profile.imageshack.us/user/giraffe138"]giraffe138, shot with [url="http://profile.imageshack.us/camerabuy.php?model=EX-M2&make=CASIO+COMPUTER+CO.%2CLTD"]EX-M2 at 2009-11-04

Apologies for the poor light quality, but it was somewhat subdued at Donington on the day of my visit....

I haven't been to The Donington Collection in years. Seing your photos reminds me to make the effort. A good time to go right now. Would be a great place for a TNF gathering (or has that been done already?).

I haven't been to The Donington Collection in years. Seing your photos reminds me to make the effort. A good time to go right now. Would be a great place for a TNF gathering (or has that been done already?).

It was suggested for earlier this year but the decision was finally made to meet at the Silverstone Classic.

I did try to get some prices from Donington for hiring a room and getting outside caterers in but nothing was forthcoming.

Prices:Adults £7.00 Children (6-16) £2.50 Students/Senior Citizens £5.00 Special Family Ticket £14.00(2 Adults & up to 3 Children) Discount rates are available for groups including coach parties:

One guest to fourteen guests £7.00 per person Fifteen guests to twenty four guests £6.00 per person Twenty five guests and over £5.00 per person Guided Tours can be arranged by prior appointment, click here for more information.

Glad to see the photos, Giraffe. I had heard that Donnington was selling off some of its stock. E.G.: an ad in the current Vintage Racecar for the Donington Collection's Scarab F-1. What exactly is happening?Tom

Giraffy, bit of photoshopping required on some of those pictures, I think.

I use a tiny little Casio Exilim 2.0 Mega Pixel that I purchased years ago at Doha Airport when these things came out. I'm usually surprised by the quality of the results considering, but in a big room with poor lighting, the tiny flash simply can't cope.

Glad to see the photos, Giraffe. I had heard that Donnington was selling off some of its stock. E.G.: an ad in the current Vintage Racecar for the Donington Collection's Scarab F-1. What exactly is happening?Tom

Don't forget many of the exhibits are on loan to the museum, Tom. Tom Wheatcroft often wheeled and dealed with his cars, and I would now presume the cars that remained titled to him will form part of his estate for probate purposes, so the short answer is do what I did on Monday, and go see them now while you can.

Glad to see the photos, Giraffe. I had heard that Donnington was selling off some of its stock. E.G.: an ad in the current Vintage Racecar for the Donington Collection's Scarab F-1. What exactly is happening?Tom

Hall and Hall, as Tom's agents, have been offering cars from the Collection for quite some time now but with Tom's passing we will have to wait and see whether the impetus will gather for further sales. I believe that the Bimotore is one of the cars recently sold but I have heard that the BRM and Vanwall collections have not been included in the list of cars currently for sale.

Don't forget many of the exhibits are on loan to the museum, Tom. Tom Wheatcroft often wheeled and dealed with his cars, and I would now presume the cars that remained titled to him will form part of his estate for probate purposes, so the short answer is do what I did on Monday, and go see them now while you can.

Thanks for the info. I dearly would like to do what you suggest, and go see it ASAP. But, being here in Wisconsin, USA, it is a bit of a drive....... Tom

I was actually thinking of a Saturday or Sunday so that the gainfully employed could also join in!

I am working part of the week in Derby at the moment and went by the circuit this morning; flags noticeably and understandably at half-mast. Like Giraffe, I too visited frequently from the time the Collection first opened (was even there when the Leyland historic collection was opened) and I do hope that it will continue to flourish. A Saturday or Sunday visit would be fine by me but maybe we should wait an appropriate length of time and perhaps see if the Wheatcroft family would wish to be involved with such a visit.

I am working part of the week in Derby at the moment and went by the circuit this morning; flags noticeably and understandably at half-mast. Like Giraffe, I too visited frequently from the time the Collection first opened (was even there when the Leyland historic collection was opened) and I do hope that it will continue to flourish. A Saturday or Sunday visit would be fine by me but maybe we should wait an appropriate length of time and perhaps see if the Wheatcroft family would wish to be involved with such a visit.

Weekend do certainly a better option for me & mine. Would maybe think about camping or caravanning on the site by the Donington Park Hotel (use it every time) and make a weekend break. Family ticket sounds like the best option for me and we all enjoyed it last time..

A lot of the more interesting and unusual cars have been sold off in recent years; the Gordini, Alta and Derby-Maserati immediately spring to mind. last time I went I must confess to being very bored by the huge display of McLarens.

Yes, but the way all the Marlboro-sponsored cars are displayed is a bit mind-numbing, don't you think?

They are actually all quite different Alan, and the individual histories of the cars are fascinating. Let's face it, if it hadn't been for sponsorship and specifically Marlboro, they would probably all have been orange (or whatever it's called; papaya?), which would have been even more of an eyeful!

Yes, but the way all the Marlboro-sponsored cars are displayed is a bit mind-numbing, don't you think?

I know what you mean (but the anorak in me would probably try to spot the differences between them!) there is a seen one seen them all feeling.Same with all the Schlumpf Bugattis, they have jumbled them up a bit now, you used to think why not at least paint one of them a different colour!Mixing some other cars amongst the McLarens would make it more visually stimulating.

But we are really lucky to be able to see them, there are only 3 or 4 people outside McLaren who have an MP series F1 car and they tend to keep them locked away.

Most of the Mclarens aren't Marlboro-sponsored though - they go back to Mclaren once a year to be serviced and come back minus Marlboro sponsorship.
Donington have sold a few cars recently (5 that I know if including the Porsche F1 car) but then they have added some more (I'd love to see more of the basement!!).
Hopefully nothing will change there for a while and for those that have been recently make sure you go again - you might think you've taken it all in but trust me, each time you go back you see something else - I've been about 6 times in the last 18 months and every time I go through the whole collection and still see something new!!